seat belts?

[Shel Hart]

It appears first cars with belts were 1962 so my 1960 wouldn't have had them. To retain as close as possible to it rolling off the factory floor, I'm assuming I should go with no lap belts putting holes in my nice new floorpan. That said, I'm certain many may say it is foolish not to install a lap belt and likely should install a 3 point belt. I'm not looking for a safety lesson here but, instead, guidance on what I should do to preserve the originality. Conventional wisdom on the topic? Yes, I will occasionally drive but will be largely preserved as a garage queen.

[Martin Benade]

It seems like many people will be OK with added seat belts or 3 point belts even if they are not specifically original, both because they were such a common period accessory, and because its such a good idea to have them. If you really only drive 20 miles per year it becomes less crazy not to add belts.

[Dick Weiss]

Shel,

Whether you add seat belts or not, DON'T attach them to the floor! Look @ the later cars which is thru the rear/bottom corner
of floor and vertical bulkhead which has a thread; Just drill holes and use nuts and washers--see the tech section for reinforcement
views. That way, you don't need to add holes thru the rear mats..

Dick

[Shel Hart]

Got it. It seems most people have added belts. I’ll research the bulkhead placement. Anyone have any pics of this done for reference as I go find the tech links?

[David Jones]

Shel, I have 3 point retractable belts in my "A" coupe and cabrio and I am also using the original mounting points in my "C" coupe. I recently had cause to be thankful for them. I was a mile from home traveling at about 55 mph on a country road with steep drop offs to the side when a deer decided it wanted my piece of road. I twitched and went off road about a foot and hit a driveway culvert then managed to hold the car partly on the road with two flat tires on bent rims until I got it back on the road and travelled about a 100 yards before I pulled over in a farm entrance. If it had not been for the belts I would likely have bounced out of the seat and lost control of the car. My takeaway from this is that even if you only drive 20 miles a year the wreck can happen any time you are on the road even 100 yards from home.
PM me if you want pictures of the installation in a car without factory installed belts.
As an aside if I had been in my boxster I would have lost control when the airbag went off and that would have been a written off boxster as I would not have stopped until I hit the river bed or hit enough trees on the descent to stop me.

[Peter Bartelli]

Shel...you can start with this. I can send more later.

[Erik Thomas]

I have added the belt mountings in the corner like Peter has. This was the way they did it in the day You need a nice big folded washer behind the corner, to reinforce it. I use 3" clip in Simpson pull down lap belts. Hard to reach the pull up kind. This is OK for racing in the VSCCA, so I figure it is fine for the street.

[Jim Clement]

here is a pic of what looks good, i think from a later parts catalog

[Shel Hart]

Got it. I see how I’ll have to heat up the large provided washer to mold around countour of the undercarriage with this mounting method. Certainly seems wiser than floor boards. Do you happen to know the proper distance between mounting points?

[David Jones]

Reinforcement plate.

[Mervyn Hyde]

Shel originality is a fine thing, but you don’t want to be the most original person in the graveyard. My 62/3 has all the mounting points and fittings from the factory and when I bought it from the original owner, it had brown (tan upholstery) non-retractable 3-point belts. I managed to get good quality, period-correct Hickock buckles and have them stitched in by an approved installer (another thread). I hang the clasp over the coat hook. I keep my car as original as possible, but wouldn’t be without those belts, even for infrequent drives.

[Shel Hart]

David, that's great and I will do something similar to reinforce due to body contour. I agree with all on seat belts and guess I needed a "safety lesson" after all. Mervyn is on point. Never too old to acknowledge my own foolishness, especially with 5 kids

[Martin Benade]

David's method is very simple and strong, and looks neat as well.

[Tom Tate]

As far as placement or distance between the mounting holes, put them near the corners but not so close to the corner that you can't get the belt clasp to attach easily. Don't ask me why I know this ..
KTF

[Shel Hart]

Makes sense. I've been careful to measure and test fit everything many times as it takes only a moment to screw up 3 years worth of work!